Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the progression of the Bill to this Stage. I am pleased to speak on the legislation and am glad my party will support it to ensure Ireland can finally move to ratify the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. We engaged with the Minister on Committee Stage and the Minister is trying to meet a self-inflicted timeline. Interaction has been complicated and it has been difficult at departmental level to get it drafted.

It is unfortunate we have not seen the full Bill and that we have to table amendments on Committee Stage. That undermines what the Minister and this House are trying to do as regards full oversight capacity on Second Stage. It covers issues such as adequate standard of living and social protection, independent living, inclusivity, access to services, including health and education and privacy, among a host of other rights. Ireland signed this convention in 2017, ten years ago. We remain the only EU country not to have ratified it. I look forward to the Bill being brought before the Joint Committee on Justice and Equality, of which I am a member, for further detailed scrutiny and constructive amendments which I and my colleagues, Deputies Murphy O'Mahony and O'Callaghan, will table. The committee has already conducted pre-legislative scrutiny on the general scheme of the Bill, which has proven very helpful in understanding the strengths and weaknesses reflected by the Bill.

It is crucial the required legislation is enacted so that the convention can be ratified. This will ensure greater rights and dignity for the 600,000 people in Ireland who have a disability. It will remove unfair and discriminatory provisions against people and will provide for better safeguards. It will give people with disabilities a voice and will enable them to become more active players in decision-making around what services and supports they need and receive. It is not only a matter of rights but how those rights are implemented, resourced and reflected in every part of our community, as well as at the departmental level. When the committee engaged I asked the Minister what engagement the Department had had at a cross-departmental level and that has to be a focus. This is the formal part but if it is not given life by the Department and put front and centre from the point of view of resource allocation then it will not deliver on its rights-based and codified approach.

Regular reviews of procedures and process are also to be welcomed. Ratifying the convention will also provide proper mechanisms of oversight and accountability and will allow for complaints to be made and heard where people feel their rights are not being recognised. It is a great shame that it has taken all this time, and will take more, to achieve these basic and fundamental rights and entitlements. Given the incomplete nature of the Bill before us, many questions remain as to how it will progress. How will people with experience of disabilities be resourced and facilitated to play a crucial role in monitoring the implementation of the convention? How will people with lived experience be key constituents in monitoring the UNCRPD in Ireland, as outlined in the convention? These are among a multitude of concerns that I know are held by many human rights groups and stakeholders. I understand and I am acutely aware of the frustrations felt by many over the slow pace of change. I will take these concerns and considerations on board in my own work in ensuring this legislation is properly developed and enhanced and we will table a number of amendments on Committee Stage to deliver the best legislation for people whom it is meant to positively affect.

I am cognisant of the lack of engagement felt by key stakeholders and by the people and families directly affected by this legislation. This, too, is a missed opportunity because the Department had time to properly reach out to those groups which have not been consulted. The Minister is shaking his head but it is not I who say this - it is the groups and stakeholders who are saying it.

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